Tidligere kongreskandidat jagtede unge bilister, med en automatriffel

Ohio - Demokraten Paul Hackett, der for to år siden var få tusinde stemmer fra at blive valgt til Reprsentanternes Hus, fangede, bevæbnet med en automatriffel, tre unge mænd der havde kørt ind i hans hegn den 19. november sidste år.

Føreren blev anholdt og sigtet for "failure to maintain reasonable control", for at køre uden kørekort og for at have et skjult våben på sig - et knojern der blev fundet i hans pung, det viser en politireport fra det loakle politi i Cincinnati-forstaden Indian Hill.

The driver was charged with failure to maintain reasonable control, driving under suspension and carrying a concealed weapon - a pair of brass knuckles found in his pocket - according to the Indian Hill police.

Vi bringer her et uddrag af undersøgelsen på engelsk, fordi jeg ikke er sikker på at jeg kan gengive den med rimelighed på dansk.

"During the investigation, Hackett told police Nov. 30 that he was carrying an AR-15. He said one round was in the chamber and that he usually has 28 rounds in the magazine. He also told police that he did not point the weapon at the three men, the safety was on and he never put his finger on the trigger.

Hackett said he had followed a trail of fluid left by the car, and the vehicle stopped in a driveway. Hackett told police that he hopped out of his truck and that he was armed.

"He told the boys to 'Get the ---- out of the car and get on the ground.' ... He said he did not touch the vehicle with the rifle and maintained his distance. 'I knew they saw I was armed,' he said. He said he had done this about 200 times in Iraq, but this time there was not a translation problem," the Indian Hill police report said.

Moore said Hackett was woken up by "criminal activity" and "took affirmative action to protect his wife and family from an unknown disturbance at his house." He then "attempted to bring the perpetrators to justice who had fled from the scene," according to Moore."

Paul Hackett, der er veteran fra Irak-krigen, stillede op i et supleringsvalg i 2005 for at efterfølge repuublikaneren Rob Portman, der havde sagt "ja, tak" til et job i Bush-administrationen. Kongresdistriktet, Ohios 2., er et af de mest republikanske i staten og alligevel var Hackett forholdsvis tæt på at slå det nuværende kongresmedlem Jean Schmidt. I 2006 flirtede han en overgang med tanken om at stille op til senatet, men trak sig som kandidat tidligt i processen.

Kilde: Cincinnati Enquirer